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US Onboarding

Learn how to onboard businesses and individuals in the United States using Customer Onboarding v5.

US onboarding includes:

  • Manual business verification (KYB)
  • Electronic and manual identity verification (KYC)
  • Beneficial ownership disclosure (≥ 25%)
  • Compliance review before activation

For more information about onboarding, see Customer Onboarding.

Business verification (KYB)​

US business onboarding requires manual submission of business documents followed by compliance review.

There is no public registry lookup flow for US businesses. All corporate applications require document upload.

Step 1: Upload required documents​

Use the Upload Document request to upload required business documents.

The response returns a fileId.

You must reference this fileId when submitting the onboarding request.

For the full list of required documents, see US Required Documents.

Step 2: Applicant declaration​

The authorized representative must confirm the following statement:

I certify that I am the authorized representative of the customer; all information provided and documents submitted are complete and correct. I confirm that I have provided all the UBOs present. I have read and accepted the Nium Terms and Conditions.

Capture this confirmation using a clickwrap and submit the following fields in your onboarding request:

FieldTypeRequiredDescription
applicantDeclarationbooleanYesIndicates acceptance of the declaration
applicantDeclarationTimestamptimestampYesFormat: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS

Step 3: Submit corporate details​

Use the Create Customer v5 request and include:

  • Corporate details
  • Stakeholder details
  • Uploaded fileId references
  • Applicant declaration fields

After submission, the application proceeds to compliance review.

Individual verification (KYC)​

US onboarding supports both electronic and manual identity verification for:

  • Individual customers
  • Authorized representatives
  • Directors
  • Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs)
  • Other required stakeholders

Electronic KYC​

  • US residents: Identity is verified automatically where available. If unsuccessful, document upload is required.
  • Non-US residents: Complete verification using live selfie and passport. If unsuccessful, document upload is required.

Manual KYC​

Manual verification is required when:

  • Electronic verification fails
  • The customer chooses manual verification
  • Additional documentation is requested

Document requirements:

  • US residents: National ID
  • Non-US residents: Passport, National ID, or Driver’s License

KYC verification​

Step 1: Submit application​

Create the customer using Create Customer v5.

After submission:

statussubstatus
pendingawaiting_kyc

Step 2: Access hosted KYC form​

The applicant opens Nium’s Hosted KYC Form.

Access is protected by a One-Time Password (OTP) sent to the registered email address.

Step 3: Complete identity verification​

The applicant completes verification in the hosted form.

Depending on the flow, this may include:

  • Automatic verification, or
  • Uploading a valid proof of identity and completing live selfie verification

Stakeholders must complete verification individually.

Step 4: Compliance review​

After KYC is completed for the applicant and all required stakeholders:

statussubstatus
pendingunder_review

Nium’s compliance team reviews submitted information offline.

If additional details are required:

  • An RFI (Request for Information) is raised
  • The customer responds through the RFI Hosted Form

Nium returns the final outcome via webhook.

For next steps based on application status, see Customer Onboarding Lifecycle.

Stakeholder and ownership requirements​

Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO)​

  • All shareholders owning more than 25% (directly or indirectly) must be tagged as UBO.
  • If no individual owns ≥ 25%, declare the most senior director as UBO.
  • If no UBO is submitted, Nium may identify one during compliance review.
  • For sole traders, the owner must be declared as UBO.

Control person​

  • At least one control person or CONTROL_PRONG must be included in the application.
  • The control prong must be an officer.

Required UBO coverage​

At least one UBO must be submitted for:

  • LIMITED_LIABILITY_COMPANY
  • CORPORATION
  • PUBLIC_COMPANY

Signatory / Representative​

  • Individuals who will conduct transactions must be declared as SIGNATORY and/or REPRESENTATIVE.
  • The applicant is considered a REPRESENTATIVE by default.
  • Additional representatives may be added during onboarding or after approval (KYC required).

Multi-layer ownership​

If another corporate entity owns more than 25% (directly or indirectly):

  • Declare all corporate stakeholders in the ownership chain.
  • Submit ownership structure documentation.

See US Required Documents for more information.

Position mapping​

A Yes value indicates that the position can be submitted for that businessType.
A blank cell means the position is not applicable.

You can also retrieve valid positions dynamically using Fetch Corporate Constants with category = positions.

businessTypeCONTROL_PRONGDIRECTOREXECUTORMEMBERSPARTNERPROTECTORSETTLORSHAREHOLDERSIGNATORYTRUSTEEUBO
CORPORATIONYesYesYesYes
ESTATEYesYesYes
GENERAL_PARTNERSHIPYesYesYesYesYes
LIMITED_LIABILITY_COMPANYYesYesYesYes
LIMITED_LIABILITY_PARTNERSHIPYesYesYesYesYes
LIMITED_PARTNERSHIPYesYesYesYesYes
PUBLIC_COMPANYYesYesYesYes
TRUSTYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
UNINCORP_ASSOCIATIONYesYesYesYes